Understand Your Parrots Body Language
Birds learn to communicate with us through sounds, behavior and actions.We therefore owe it to them to take the time to learn to interpret the meanings of their sounds and behaviors in order to have a successful & happy relationship with them.
Growling - In general this indicates signs of aggression, growling is often accompanied by dilating pupils and raised feathers on the back of the neck. It means that a bird does not want to be approached. If your bird display's this behaviour you are best to back of and wait for the bird to calm down before attempting any contact.
Tongue Clicking - Rapid "clicking" of the tongue against the beak generally indicates "I want to be friendly, I won't hurt you".
Flashing/Dilating Pupils - Flashing, dilating pupils can be a sign of aggression, excitement, nervousness, or pleasure.So you need to pay close attention to other behaviors,such as body posture to determine your greys mood.
Beak Grinding - Often a similar sound to a human grinding their teeth.It is your grey scraping the lower mandible against the upper mandible. It is usually a sign of a bird feeling secure, content & happy. This will often be heard after your bird settles in for the night, right before he drops off to sleep, and sometimes during sleep.
Whistling, Singing, Talking - These activities are displayed when your grey is feeling safe, secure and content in his surroundings.
Regurgitating - When done in the presence of us humans it normally means that the bird has chosen you as it's mate, and wants to feed you! This action is also sometimes performed on a favorite toy or other object. This activity consists of bobbing the head up and down to bring up food from the crop, and depositing it into the mate's mouth.
Lowered Head - Generally one of two reasons.A bird who is pulling his wings in close to his body, has his head lower than the perch and sometimes bobbing slightly, and is leaning forward with quivering or flapping wings is getting ready to take flight.Secondly a bird that is standing still with his head lowered/tucked in front of you, with head feathers puffed out, is probably asking to be scratched!
Preening - Preening is the activity that a bird conducts to keep his feathers in top condition. It consists of running feathers through their beaks from the base to the tip to straighten and clean them.Greys spend a large amount of time preening.
Wing Flipping - This is a sharp, flicking movement of one or both wings and is usually a sign of either,your grey is angry,he needs to put a feather back in place,he is trying to exercise by holding on & flapping his wings,if he has his shoulders hunched & is head bobbing he is after your attention.
Perching - On one foot shows us that a bird feels comfortable in his surroundings and secure in his environment. A secure bird will sleep with one foot tucked up to his abdomen and his head turned around and tucked into his back feathers.
Tail Wagging - This generally is a sign of contentment and happiness, especially at seeing a favorite human, or during an especially enjoyed activity. Consists of a quick "wag" of the tail feathers back and forth.
Tail Bobbing - Tail bobbing, in and of itself, is not necessarily a sign of sickness. Some birds bob their tails while they are talking or singing. If the tail bobbing is evident only while your bird is inhaling/exhaling, then it could be a sign of sickness.
Stretching - Like us humans, birds stretch to relieve tension. This is especially important for them since they spend so much time on their feet. Birds will stretch one foot and the opposite wing at the same time, which improves circulation and and refreshes muscles.
Biting - With young birds,we often see the "teething stage" young greys will "beak" almost everything it comes in contact with.Biting birds do so for a reason.Your grey may be feeling threatened, frightened or startled.
